Reliquary Sentinels
The Reliquary Sentinels are the newest Military Order, who have dedicated themselves to seizing and researching Forerunner relics. They regularly venture out into unknown space to capture and safeguard Forerunner relics, History Formation The Reliquary Sentinels were formed in the aftermath of the Schism, when the chaos following the fall of the Covenant allowed unscrupulous individuals to pillage and loot caches of Forerunner technology. Misuse of these artefacts lead to many disasters, and many were used as weapons, or terrorist devices. After a warlord attempted to utilise a translocation device to launch a surprise attack against his enemy in a neighbouring state on Sanghelios, and in the process generated a massive slipspace event that laid waste to his own keep, and everything within a kilometre, like minded individuals began to band together, in hopes of preventing a future catastrophe of the same nature. Referring to themselves as simply the sentinels at first, they numbered just sixty, and were a mixed group of individuals, including researchers, warriors, the devout and the agnostic. They all agreed that such artefacts were dangerous to leave in irresponsible. The group had their first military action when they learned a mercenary group had begun excavating a Forerunner site, in hopes of salvaging a weapon to use against their enemies. Mustering immediately for action, the small group attacked at night, scattering the mercenaries as they finished excavating the device, then left with it. News of their actions, and their cause, begun to spread, and soon more arrived at the door of their temporary abode. Deciding they could not stick to the farmhouse they had been using, then left to seize a fortress built into the mountains of the Kolaar region. Housing brigands and miscreants, they seized the fortress in only a day, and revealed their choice of home. The fortress was built over a long sealed Forerunner vault, which they hoped could be used to seal their prizes in. The Sentinels grew in number and strength, gaining a handful of Phantoms, and a substantial armoury. They used this to secure more Forerunner artefacts on and around Sanghelios, bringing them to the attention of the Swords of Sanghelios, and the Justiciars. Both offered to trade information on Forerunner relics, and offered bounties on Forerunner relics seized and contained. With the rise of the Republic, they were sworn in as a Military Ordered, and given the title of 'Reliquary Sentinels', with Republic funding for their mission. Recent Years Role The Reliquary Sentinels role is primarily securing, researching and containing Forerunner relics. This this end, they venture out into the galaxy, securing relics on the black market, or in the hands of opposing or rogue states, and bringing them back to their fortress to research, investigate and finally contain them. to this end, the Reliquary Sentinels often conduct dangerous raids against those who hold Forerunner relics, or explore abandoned constructs. They have a deeply interpersonal relationship with the Republic, sharing information on their finds so as to gain benefit from the artefacts they secure. Recruitment The Sentinels recruit openly, for both warriors and scholars, often accepting anybody who comes to their fortress. Religion is considered superfluous inside the Sentinels, as they perform a task that would of been viewed as heretical in the old Covenant. Instead, they ask their applicants to leave their religion aside, and instead embrace a more pragmatic view, that these devices cannot be left idle, and vulnerable to misuse. To deter infiltrators or those in it for profit, they often place new recruits in outer parts of the Sentinel's formation, placing new warriors in the guard duty on the outer walls, and placing new scholars on simple tasks, on equally simple artefacts. Most will never see field duty for months, and those that do are often under supervision. Close observation by senior Sentinels allow them to root out infiltrators, an all too common occurrence, and cast them out before they can do harm. Those that remain train diligently so they might come to be as skilled as their seniors. Once accepted as Sentinels, it may be years before they even see a real artefact, and often will only see the outside of the ancient vault that contains their war prizes. After some time of excellent service, they are accepted into the inner circle, of High Sentinels, warrior-scholars without peer, who are the only ones permitted to see inside the Vault, and the treasures, wonders, and horrors it contains. Sworn to silence of what lies within, these Sentinels are amongst the most skilled and deadly within the Order. Equipment As standard, Sentinels utilise lightly modified versions of the Republic's Special Operations Harness, a lightweight model that utilises active camouflage systems. This speaks of much of the Sentinel's combat style, where their main armour is specially tuned for stealth. Each is painted a deep steel-blue colour, and features no external markings of rank or position. The armour is fitted with a short ranged Reliquary, a reverse engineered Forerunner sensor that can detect artefacts, but only at a short range. High Sentinels each receive a lovingly made set of armour, custom built to each of them. Modelled on the Dervish-class Harness, it features advanced stealth features, and sophisticated hardware. Each is built to their specification, but most High Sentinels will modify their armour, or have it modified by another High Sentinel, to incorporate pieces of Forerunner technology. No two sets have the same abilities, and they include abilities such as hardlight point defence shields, enhanced visual sensors allowing them to identify targets through solid objects, the ability to generate constraint fields to restrain an enemy, and many other exotic features. Most of their armoury is conventional, with firearms bought from the Republic, most utilising plasma weapons or carbines. Each Sentinel usually takes weapons that match their own personal fighting style, though the Sentinel's training makes it obvious that precision is preferred to collateral damage. The Sentinels make use of a few vehicles, mostly limited to Ghosts, Revenants and Spectres for lightweight support on the ground, each vehicle fast and agile. In the air, they use Phantoms, Banshees and even a few Seraphs, most of which are modified with active camouflage and other stealth systems to mask their approach. Like their armour, these are all painted a deep steel-blue colour. When it comes to warships, the Sentinels have the largest number of warships, behind the Void Lords. With twenty-one capital ships, of various classes, they have the necessary fire power to take whatever they cannot easily steal. This arsenal includes two Avenger-class Heavy Destroyers, a Vengeance-class Heavy Destroyer, four Retribution-class Battlecruisers, two Guardian-class Destroyers, nine Templar-class Corvettes and three Vigilant-class Stealth Corvettes. All have been extensively modified for their mission, so they now feature additional sensors and stealth capabilities. Most also feature laboratories and data storage facilities, as well as the ability to launch probes and satellites for reconnaissance. All are fitted with high-accuracy Reliquary sensors, some of which have been taken directly from Forerunner ruins and wrecks. They also have a number of Asura-class Assault Shuttles, for ferrying smaller parties around for missions.